DA: Man gets 19-year sentence for attempted carjacking of NYPD cop

A Far Rockaway man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison on an attempted-murder charge for last year’s shooting in Far Rockaway of a driver he tried to carjack who turned out to be an off-duty NYPD cop headed to work, according the Queens district attorney’s office.

The man, Chad Collie, now 20, pleaded guilty last month, the office wrote in a news release. He was sentenced Tuesday by Justice Toni Cimino of Queens Supreme Court.

At about 10 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2022, Collie had shot the driver, Manuel Soto, then 22, once in the shoulder, having fired three times after tapping on Soto's window and, at gunpoint, demanding he exit the car, which he did. Soto, a police officer, returned fire, but missed. He had been headed to work at the 63rd Precinct in Brooklyn.

The attempted carjacking took place at a traffic light near the intersection of Beach Channel Drive and Beach 62nd Street in the Arverne area of Far Rockaway.

Hearing the sound of gunfire, nearby cops went to the area, confronted Collie, followed him, and he shot at them, striking their car. He tossed the gun and ran, and he was detained a short time afterward. Within two days, Soto was released from the hospital.

Collie’s attorney, Jonathan Latimer of the Queens Defenders, did not immediately return a voicemail Tuesday seeking comment.

The news release makes no mention of a co-defendant, Jayare Robinson, 18, who was also arrested and faced essentially the same initial charges as Collie.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, who declined to give her full name or be cited, said Tuesday she had no information about Robinson. The state court’s online database also contains no information about Robinson.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.